


Bat-training Doesn’t Prepare You for Everything

by badassfics



Series: JayDick Week 2 [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Age Difference, Awkward Dates, Day 4, Dialogue Heavy, First Dates, Humor, Inner Dialogue, Jaydick Week 2, M/M, Nervousness, Overthinking, Romance, Trigger Warning: Vomit mention, talkative Dick Grayson, talkative Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 03:05:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7296964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badassfics/pseuds/badassfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They weren’t expecting things to be perfect between them, so there was no reason to panic. Besides, the first date is always awkward for any couple. Right?</p><p>(Two dorks freak out over nothing. Then over each other. And then together for good measure.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bat-training Doesn’t Prepare You for Everything

**Author's Note:**

> JAYDICK WEEK JUNE 2016
> 
> Day 4  
> First Date: This is again something pretty self-explanatory, although it doesn’t have to be a relationship thing yet. For example, this might have been a blind date, or they’re testing out their new-found feelings on a date. It can be anything from a romantic dinner to a “let’s order some pizza and watch netflix”.

This is not Dick’s first rodeo.

In fact, Dick Grayson has as much of a playboy reputation as Brucie Wayne: Rich Idiot without a Day Job. It’s entirely unfair. He has been on a lot of dates because he actually wants a serious relationship; he’s not trying to fool around or create a different persona. No one he meets seems to want the same thing.

He knows he should be worried; Jason could be scared off just like all of Dick’s other failed dates.

_ Well,  _ Dick thought, _ the date I planned makes it pretty clear what I’m looking for. If Jason doesn’t want the same thing, he’ll be out of there faster than The Flash. _

Yeah… Dick might have gone a bit overboard. Being the son of the city’s greatest benefactor means that any restaurant will make a reservation for you. And nothing says “I’m not looking for another fling” like $25 an ounce steak. He knows that with the complicated history between them, there is a high chance that they might not work out. That won’t scare Dick away from putting himself out there.

_ It’s just a first date _ , Dick told himself.  _ It’s not like I have any crazy expectations from it. I can try to make my intentions clear, but I’ll remember that I’m just here to decide if I even like Jason. For now. _

A first date. Dick knows how to handle a first date.

* * *

 

Jason Todd has no freaking clue what he got into.

The last time he went on anything resembling a romantic evening, he had to ask Bruce for permission to go out. He also had to rush home after to put on armoured boy shorts and fight crime with Batman. He was also  _ 15 years old _ at the time. Now he’s about to spend an entire night with the man he’s crushed on since the aforementioned “scaly-panties” phase of his life, and he has to play it cool so said crush does not freak out.

Jason could play it cool. If he ever had an ounce of chill in his  _ life _ .

Part of him is still wondering how the hell he got a date with Dick. Another part is far more concerned about not getting invested in something that probably won’t last. The thing about pining for someone secretly from a distance is that you get to know yourself a lot better. Jason realized how fucking lonely his life was a long time ago. For the most part, it isn’t hard to deal with. The problem comes when every meaningless one night stand and aborted romance he ever had only helped highlight how alone he is.

No one has ever cared enough about Jason Todd to stay with him.

One date won’t change that. He wants to say he doesn’t care, but it would honestly be pretty upsetting if Dick just wanted to hook-up. It took Jason a long time to be able to admit he wants more than that. To admit he  _ deserves _ more.

_ I’m not going to dump that shit on Dick; that would scare away any first date,  _ Jason thought, and he reminded himself that they agreed to get to know one another before talking about a relationship.

_ I just have to make sure he gets to know the side of me that’s not a needy romantic. _

* * *

 

Dick arrives on time to pick Jason up for their date. It doesn’t hit him until he gets to the door that this entire situation is kinda weird for the two of them. They aren’t strangers. If anything, they know more about each other now than anyone else Dick could take on a first date. But any interaction they had one-on-one was almost always as their alter-egos. For all intents and purposes, Jason Todd and Dick Grayson are about to meet for the first time.

_ Don’t get psyched out, Grayson. You’ve never been bad at first impressions before,  _ Dick told himself. He gathered the confidence to knock on the door.

A muffled curse could barely be heard from inside the apartment, and Dick cracked a grin at that. It took a moment before Jason was opening the door. The first thing Dick noticed was that Jason had a small smile on his face that betrayed a bit of nervousness from the usually cocky young man.

The second thing Dick noticed was that Jason had  _ grown _ . Dick’s “Little Wing” now stood a couple of inches over his predecessor and filled in a large frame with solid muscle. He was dressed in a grey suit with a red shirt to match his usual color scheme, and his hair was pushed back to show more of his face. Overall, Dick thought Jason looked stunning.

Jason’s thoughts were a lot less calm:

_ Fuck, this is really happening. Of course Dick looks like a fucking Calvin Klein model; if he pulled off a gaudy disco costume, he’d look damn good in a three piece suit. Shit, what if he can tell I bought my suit with old drug money? I must look like a creepy drug lord! I probably wore this tie while beheading the lieutenants of my competition. _

“Wow Little Wing, you clean up nicely,” Dick said with a grin.

Jason took that as a cue to get out of his own head. While trying to set aside his traitorous nerves, he realized that Dick just complimented him and had to fight the urge to blush.

“You should see yourself Dicke-bird.”

“Oh I did, and I look pretty great. You know me: always looking to impress,” Dick replied, his grin turning into a smirk.

“Man, we better get out of here before you continue with that train of thought. I remember  your brand of ‘impressing people’ and it usually involves really low necklines,” Jason said while locking his door and arming security measures.

“Hey, it was fashionable at the time!”

***

They get to the restaurant via Dick’s car. Well, one of Bruce’s cars that’s just Dick’s favorite to borrow. It was the Maserati Alfieri and a good choice because they were saved from making awkward car conversation by Jason’s fangirling over the car’s specs.

“Valet parking? Really? If that were my car I wouldn’t let anyone in it without seeing their entire driving history and criminal background first,” Jason commented.

“Well if I did that, you wouldn’t have been able to ride in it.”

“Ooh burn. This how you treat all your dates, or am I special?” Jason teased.

Dick opens the door for the both of them, and it’s his turn to smile nervously. He can’t help but worry about what Jason’s reaction to such an extravagant restaurant will be. Still, he can’t bring himself to regret laying his intentions out bare, so he just looks Jason in the eye and says earnestly, “You’re pretty special, Jaybird.”

Jason is saved from having to respond to that by the hostess, who greets Dick as “Mr. Grayson” and leads them up a small flight of grandiose stairs to a balcony overlooking the entire restaurant. The platform was wide open with only a table set for two and a pair of waiters who pull the chairs out for Jason and Dick to sit before wordlessly exiting.

Dick leans over the table slightly to whisper, “I thought you would appreciate the privacy. Sometimes I get a bit jumpy if I don’t have a vantage point on public places myself.”

Jason was a bit stunned, visibly. Dick knew that could be a good or completely horrible thing; he wanted to let Jason have some time to respond to it all, but he looked a bit at a loss for words. “Everything alright Little Wing?” Dick asked hesitantly.

A brief look of panic flashed over Jason’s face, and Dick was scared that he had overwhelmed the young man. But Jason just avoided Dick’s eyes and cleared his throat gently before saying, “Yeah. It’s just, um.

“No one has ever done anything like this for me before,” Jason said quietly.

He finally met Dick’s gaze, and the soft look on the Golden Boy’s face made Jason’s heart lurch up to somewhere behind his ears. Maybe Jason is reading the entire atmosphere wrong, but he gets the feeling that Dick wants to take this as seriously as he does. Despite any of his usual instincts, Jason takes one moment to hope.

Then he feels ridiculous for acting like he’s in some crap romance novel, so he almost sighs in relief when the server comes up to ask for their wine selection.

“Oh, I can’t drink. I’ll just have a glass of water please,” Jason responds immediately.

“Me too. Thanks,” Dick said without much thought. He was too busy feeling relieved that he hasn’t scared Jason off.

After a pause, he processed what Jason said to their server. A sudden, horrifying thought entered Dick’s head, and he realized that he definitely should have asked Jason something before they ever agreed to go on a date. He tries to find a way to word the question delicately, but he has no clue and just decides to go for it.

“Umm, Jason. I probably should have asked sooner, but… how old are you again?”

Jason blinked in confusion before realization dawned on him. Then it looked like he was holding back a laugh.

“Oh man, Dickie-bird, are you scared that I’m not over the legal drinking age?” he said with a snicker.

“Hey it’s a legitimate concern! I’m turning 29, so I can’t exactly be starting relationships with someone a decade younger than me.”

“Alright, alright. I understand why that’s important. You can calm down; I’m 23, okay?” Jason said, while trying not to think too hard about Dick and  _ starting relationships _ .

Dick visibly relaxed. The age difference between them was only a couple years more than the difference between him and Babs.

Jason continued, “The only reason I don’t drink is because our, uh,  _ hobby _ and alcohol don’t really mix well. Like I could still shoot while completely shitfaced, but put my on a rooftop ledge with half a beer and I’d probably hurl over the ledge.”

“Oh my god, I thought it was just me who felt that! I swear, attending to one of Bruce’s galas before going out is the worst. Drunk rich people are always pushing glasses of champagne on me, and even if I only have one glass the entire night, I probably end up vomiting all over a tied up criminal as soon as I take off flying,” Dick said with a grimace.

“It’s so unfair, isn’t it? Bruce can party all night and still sprint all across Gotham without so much as a blink,” Jason replied.

“Ha. No actually, he’s really sneaky about it but he never actually drinks at his own parties. He has Alfred pour ginger ale into champagne flutes just for him. It’s sad really; the man spends thousands on alcohol everytime he throws a gala, but he never gets to try it,” Dick shook his head.

“Well, we give up a lot for the mission,” Jason said softly, without a hint of regret. “I doubt Bruce cares all that much about champagne,” he continued, “I’d just like to enjoy an action movie for once without cringing at the inaccuracies.”

“Same!” Dick agreed, “You know what really bugs me? It doesn’t matter how early I go to bed; if it isn’t past 3 AM I cannot sleep at all.”

“Yeah, unless it’s like your third day without sleep, right?” Jason said and let out a breath as a memory came to mind. “But if it’s past two in the morning and I can’t find a way to sleep, I get into the weirdest shit.”

“Really?” Dick asked with a playful smile, “It can’t be worse than what I’ve done.”

“Oh Dickie, you do not want to take that bet,” Jason practically challenged Dick with those words. “Last month…”

***

It has been so long since Dick had someone who could keep up with his constant talking, but Jason kept the conversation a continuous back and forth. At some point, dinner was served and eaten amongst the chatter. Neither of them really had much recollection of what they ate or how it tasted; it would have been a shame that such expensive food wasn’t fully appreciated, but the two enjoyed the company far more than they ever would have cared for the meal.

Some time after they had a competition of “who can eat more of their giant dessert portion” (Jason won. Dick might have a giant sweet-tooth, but no one is more of a chocoholic than Jason Peter Todd), their energetic banter died down to comfortable gazes and small smiles.

The waiter chose that moment to inform them that it was 11 o’clock and ask if there was anything they needed before the restaurant closed for the night.

“No, just the check please,” Dick said. As the waiter left out of earshot, he whispered frantically, “I was supposed to be on patrol by now!”

“Me too, I probably missed the window for a bust I’d planned. Now I guess I have to go out looking for trouble,” Jason laughed. He couldn’t find it in himself to be upset. After all, those criminals could always be caught tomorrow and looking down at the empty dining room, he knew that the night he just had was something special.

Dick battled with himself for a moment before saying, “Do you want to go on patrol with me tonight?”

Jason smiled, “Yeah. I’d like that.”

It may have been just an impulsive move to keep their date going on for longer, but Dick couldn’t help feeling elated at Jason’s words. He feels like they really connected tonight, if only on a base level. Dick has been looking for that feeling for too long. Now, he’s certain he doesn’t want to let it go.

“Mr. Grayson, the check,” the waiter reappeared.

“Oh please, let me-” Jason began.

“You can pay for next time,” Dick interrupted with a smile.

Jason didn’t know what he was expecting from tonight, but what he got was far better. Never in his most deluded fantasies, would he have expected Dick Grayson to want to go out with him. Jason doesn’t think he’s spent an entire night just talking to someone maybe  _ ever _ in his life. He wouldn’t mind more nights like this.

“Sure Dickie.

“Next time’s on me.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was very hard to write holy shit. It's about the length of my first fic but it took like twice as long, and now I'm barely squeezing this in time for the last day of JayDick week T.T anything else I post will be late submissions, but I am still planning to do them NO MATTER WHAT >:|
> 
> Honestly, I still feel like I rushed it. I might re-write this after I'm done with all the other prompts. Next up is "First Heart to Heart" which I'm more excited to write than any other prompt :D soitmighttakemelikeanotherwholeweekoops.
> 
> Anyway, I'm still really new at this whole writing thing, so pleaaase send criticisms! I was very happily surprised that some people enjoyed my last fic, though, so thanks for all the kind words :). But yeah, tell me how to improve my writing and don't even worry about insulting me (you won't, trust). Also this is un-beta'd so I can fix any grammatical errors that you find.
> 
> Prompts from: http://jaydickhell.tumblr.com/post/145209520460/jaydick-week-june-2016  
> Rebloggable version of this fic: http://badassusername.tumblr.com/post/146440732078/bat-training-doesnt-prepare-you-for-everything


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